ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Top 5 Tips for Self-Publishing

Updated on January 8, 2020
Anne Carr profile image

Anne has a Master of Arts in Teaching and a Bachelor's in Language.

The Ultimate Goal

Every self-published author wants to be able to see their book on the shelves of a bookstore, but it takes a lot of work to get to your ultimate goal as a writer.
Every self-published author wants to be able to see their book on the shelves of a bookstore, but it takes a lot of work to get to your ultimate goal as a writer.

The Self-Published Author

Have you decided to self-publish a book? If so, there is a lot you need to consider before going forward. What’s the end result? What are you hoping to accomplish by self-publishing? All of these are things that you want to think about. Most people choose self-publishing because it is the easy way to get your book published fast. Sending out query letters to agents and trying to find a literary agent nowadays is so difficult. Many people would rather self-publish simply to avoid wasting years on rejection letters. However, it is important for you to weigh your possibilities when it comes to publishing.


Tip #1: Choose a Reliable Site

Pick a reliable site to self-publish your book on. Kindle Direct Publishing is one of the best ways to self-publish a book, and it is simple and easy to use. You can sell your e-book and print book on the site, and you don’t have to pay anything, it is completely free. Shop around for multiple self-publishing sites and compare them to see which site is best suited to your own personal needs.

Build Your Web Presence

All authors have a website, so it's important to start building your online presence as soon as possible.
All authors have a website, so it's important to start building your online presence as soon as possible.

Tip #2: Create a Website

Most self-published authors and authors in general have their own websites. Create your own website where you can showcase and promote your work as well as blog about your experiences. A social media presence is also a good idea, so get a Twitter account and link it to your website. People are much more likely to buy your book and be interested in it if they know you have a website and a social media presence, because they want to follow you and get to know you, not just as a writer, but as a person. Invest the time now in giving yourself this digital presence so that you can gain a larger audience.

Tip #3: Know Your Market

If you don’t understand the market that you are trying to self-publish this book in, chances are, you won’t achieve much success. You need to think about the big picture and how you are going to appeal to competing books in your genre. How will you gain readers and interest in your book? If you are planning on self-publishing, the majority of this forethought is going to need to be done by you and you alone.

Tip #4: Attend Lots of Events

In order for you to be successful as a self-published author, you will need to attend lots of events and take care of your own promotions for your book. See what types of community events are happening in the area or conventions where you can showcase and possibly sell your book. Also ask local bookstores if they would be willing to have you come in and do a reading from your book. It never hurts to ask! You are the person in charge of your own success when you self-publish your book.

KDP

Kindle Direct Publishing is just one of the self-publishing platforms that you can use to self-publish your book.
Kindle Direct Publishing is just one of the self-publishing platforms that you can use to self-publish your book.

Tip #5: Be Persistent

If you don’t go out and get what you want in the self-publishing field, you are more than likely not going to get it. As a self-published author, you have to advocate for yourself because no one else is going to do it for you. This puts a lot of pressure on you, but it also affords you the most freedom in deciding how you want to do things, how you want to present yourself to the public, and ultimately how you manage your publication career.

The Ball Is In Your Court

The best thing about becoming a self-published author is that everything is in your control. With that being said, it is a big responsibility and a lot of hard work in order to keep pushing forward. You have to carry the determination and the job to get the job done and be successful. Only you are in charge of your own destiny, so go out there and make the impact on the world that you have always wanted!

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)